Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin (16) throws passes during their first practice for the GoDaddy.com Bowl Thursday, Jan. 5, 2012 at the University of South Alabama football practice field. The GoDaddy.com Bowl will be played Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala. (Press-Register, Bill Starling)

MOBILE, Alabama -- Arkansas State interim coach David Gunn freely admits that Ryan Aplin's high school tape wasn't the most impressive he and the Red Wolves' staff have ever seen.

But there was something about him, Gunn said. And there still is.

"That's the million-dollar question -- what is it about Ryan Aplin?" Gunn laughingly said of his quarterback as ASU held its initial practice in Mobile on Thursday for Sunday night's GoDaddy.com Bowl. "If you walk out there now and say, 'OK, which one is this quarterback who's putting up all these great numbers?' ... if you went just by physical characteristics and try to pick him out, I don't know if you would. But Ryan has that 'it' factor."

Aplin (6-1, 205) has gone from a two-star prospect coming out of Fleming Island High in Tampa in 2008 to the Sun Belt Conference's player of the year in 2011 after leading Arkansas State to a 10-2 record. He completed 274 of 418 passes for 3,235 yards and 18 touchdowns and also led the Red Wolves in rushing with 605 yards and 9 TDs on 151 carries.

As the triggerman for a hurry-up offense that seeks to dictate tempo, Aplin said his job is to manage the pace and put his teammates in position to make plays.

"Watching film, I want to get them right," he said. "We pretty much control the tempo, and I think that's definitely an advantage for us."

Gunn said Aplin has become very good at managing that fast tempo.

"We refer to it as staying on schedule -- no lost yardage, no plays where we're backing up -- and Ryan has done an excellent job of keeping this offense on schedule, keeping us moving forward and giving the offense an opportunity to put points on the board," he said. "He has excellent instincts."

The instincts, intelligence and accuracy that Gunn sees from the sidelines are also seen by Aplin's receivers downfield.

"That dude is unbelievable," said Red Wolves receiver Carlos McCants, a LeFlore High grad. "He made some plays that I've never seen anybody make before. Without him, I don't know what this offense would be like."

Aplin threw for 2,939 yards and ran for 477 -- a close second on the team -- as a redshirt sophomore in 2010. A year later, he said he feels more comfortable in the offense, which is set up for the quarterback to be a factor in the running game.

"We are a football team that likes running our quarterback," Gunn said. "If we feel like what the defense is presenting to us gives us the opportunity to do that, we're not afraid to run our quarterback."

Next year, ASU will be led by another coach known for letting his quarterbacks run -- former Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn. Aplin said he isn't sure how much the offense will change under Malzahn, who will be in Mobile for Sunday's game, but he doesn't think it'll be drastic.

"I haven't really had time to sit down with him too much, but I imagine it'll be very similar," he said. "He runs kind of the same offense from what I've seen."

Next year can wait, however, as this is just the school's second bowl appearance since first joining Division I in 1975 and Aplin wants to make it count. What would a win over Northern Illinois mean to the Red Wolves?

"Everything," Aplin said. "Not only for us and this team but the community and the A-State Nation across the country. It's definitely special."